Countdown to Kickoff ’25: Innovative playoff format enters 2nd season

By: Don Rebel
Wednesday, August 13, 2025 | 9:36 PM

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This will be the second season of the innovative WPIAL football playoff format.

The trusty old abacus was retired last fall when it came to figuring out wild card playoff teams.

The WPIAL football steering committee decided which schools qualified for the district playoffs as wild cards instead of using tiebreaker formulas as was done in the past.

There is a total of 16 wild card teams.

So how did the new format affect the 2024 district postseason field compared to the formula used in years past? Let’s take a look on a class-by-class basis.

• There are no wild card teams in Class 6A.

• In Class 5A, with three conferences and 12 teams qualifying, the top four teams in each conference would have clinched in years past. South Fayette, the fifth-place team in the Allegheny Six, received a wild card berth last season, while fourth-place Plum in the Northeast Conference was home for the playoffs.

There was a three-way tie for fourth place in the 5A Big East Conference last fall. Latrobe got the nod over Kiski Area and Gateway in the new format while in the old format, Gateway would have qualified via WPIAL tiebreaker points.

• In 4A, there would have been two wild card teams. One of them would have gone to one of the tri-champions in the Parkway Conference after Aliquippa, Montour and West Allegheny finished tied for the title, while the other wild card would have been decided by a coin flip between Belle Vernon and West Mifflin since they tied in Gardner points and WPIAL tiebreaker points. The committee picked Belle Vernon last fall.

• In 3A, with three conferences, it would have been the top four teams in each conference and that is how it played out last season.

• In 2A, there are 13 teams that qualify, so in the old format, it would have been the top four teams in each of the three conferences and one wild card. The wild card team a year ago was Washington, which finished tied for fourth place in the Century Conference with Carlynton. The Little Prexies would have also earned the wild card in the previous playoff format.

• Finally in Class A, with four conferences and 16 playoff teams, the previous playoff format would have seen the top four teams in each conference make the playoffs. However with the committee picking, fifth-place Brentwood in the Eastern Conference qualified while the fourth-place team in the Tri-County South Conference, Carmichaels, was a playoff spectator.

The 2025 playoffs begin Friday, Oct. 31 and Saturday, Nov. 1, except in Class 6A, where the semifinals will be played Friday, Nov. 7.

There are four teams that qualify for the WPIAL football playoffs in Class 6A, 12 in 5A, 8 in 4A, 12 in 3A, 13 in 2A and 16 in A.

Here is a reminder of the postseason format and the class by class breakdown for all six classifications.

Class 6A

Only seven teams are in the class, and four of them will participate in the district playoffs.

There will be two rounds with the four playoff teams earning byes into the semifinals Friday, Nov. 8 at the site of the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds. The championship game will be played at a site to be determined on Saturday, Nov. 15.

The 6A championship game will be played at a high school venue for a sixth straight year since the WPIAL champion will begin the PIAA playoffs in the quarterfinals on the weekend of Nov. 21-22, the same weekend the WPIAL will be holding the 5A, 3A, 2A and A football title games at Acrisure Stadium

Class 5A

There are three conferences in Class 5A, with eight teams in the Big East and seven teams each in the Allegheny Six and Northeast Conferences. The top three teams in each conference qualify, along with three wild card teams that will be determined by the WPIAL steering committee.

There will be four rounds for the 12 playoff teams.

The top four seeds in the bracket will receive a first-round bye. Seeds No. 5 through 8 will host first round playoff games.

The four teams that receive first-round byes will host quarterfinals.

The two semifinals are at a neutral site.

The Class 5A championship game will be played at Acrisure Stadium for only the third time in the last eight years on either Friday, Nov. 21 or Saturday, Nov. 22. The WPIAL champion will begin the PIAA playoffs in the semifinals the weekend of Nov. 28-29.

Class 4A

Only eight teams will qualify for the district playoffs in 4A, down from the 13 teams that reached the postseason in 2023.

There are 18 teams in the classification with six teams each in the Parkway, Greater Allegheny and Big Seven Conferences.

The top two teams in each conference along with two wild card teams determined by the WPIAL football steering committee will qualify for the three-week district playoffs.

The three conference champions and the next highest seeded team will host quarterfinals.

The two semifinals are at a neutral site.

The 4A championship game will take place at a site to be determined on Saturday, Nov. 15.

The 4A WPIAL champion will begin the PIAA playoffs in the quarterfinals the weekend of Nov. 22-23, the same weekend the WPIAL will be holding the 5A, 3A, 2A and A football title games at Acrisure Stadium.

Class 3A

There are three conferences with seven teams in the Western Hills and Allegheny Seven Conference and six teams in the Interstate Conference. The top three teams in each conference qualify, along with three wild card teams that will be determined by the WPIAL football steering committee.

There will be four rounds.

The top four seeds in the bracket will receive a first-round bye. Seeds No. 5 through 8 will host first-round playoff games.

The four teams that received first-round byes will host quarterfinals.

The two semifinals are at a neutral site.

The Class 3A championship game will be played at Acrisure Stadium on either Friday, Nov. 21 or Saturday, Nov. 22. The WPIAL champion will begin the PIAA playoffs in the semifinals the weekend of Nov. 28-29.

Class 2A:

There will be 13 teams that qualify for the district playoffs in 2A for a four-week playoff bracket.

There are eight teams in the Midwestern Athletic Conferences and seven teams each in the Allegheny and Century Conferences.

The top three teams in each conference along with four wild card team determined by the WPIAL football steering committee will earn postseason berths.

The top three seeds in the bracket will earn first-round playoff byes. The higher seeded team in the other first-round contests will host a playoff game.

The three teams that received first-round byes will host quarterfinals. The other quarterfinal is at a neutral site.

The two semifinals are at a neutral site.

The Class 2A championship game will be played at Acrisure Stadium on either Friday, Nov. 21 or Saturday, Nov. 22. The WPIAL champion will begin the PIAA playoffs in the semifinals the weekend of Nov. 28-29.

Class A

Once again, the smallest classification in the district will have the largest playoff field.

A full bracket of 16 teams will qualify for the Class A playoffs.

This is the only class that has four conferences. The Eastern and Tri-County South Conference have eight teams while the Black Hills and Big 7 Conference have seven teams.

The top three teams in each conference plus four wild card teams to be determined by the WPIAL football steering committee will qualify for the district postseason.

The four conference champions along with the other four highest seeds will host first-round playoff games with no first-round byes.

The four quarterfinals and two semifinals will be played at neutral sites.

The Class A championship game will be played at Acrisure Stadium on either Friday, Nov. 21 or Saturday, Nov. 22. The WPIAL champion will begin the PIAA playoffs in the semifinals round on the weekend of Nov. 28-29.